Helicopters heard were from JBLM

Published 11:48 am Thursday, March 20, 2014

The five military helicopters heard in the Port Angeles area on the night of July 11 were Army choppers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, according to Newsradio KONP in Port Angeles.

The station reported that Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict confirmed after a phone call with Army officials that the three C-H-47 Chinooks and two AH-64 Apaches were on an exercise from the Gray Army Airfield at JBLM.

The sheriff said local authorities did not receive advance notice about the activity.

Benedict told KONP the helicopters were from a special operations group on an exercise that entailed landing at the Coast Guard Air Station at Ediz Hook, probably to refuel. KONP reported the choppers made multiple approaches for landings at Ediz Hook.

Benedict said dispatchers also received reports of the same helicopters flying in the Sequim area near River Road and up the Dungeness River.

Benedict also told KONP that the choppers probably needed some night flight time and forgot to alert area law enforcement. A retired Navy fighter pilot, Benedict said he told the operations officer that he didn’t think it was a good idea to fly over heavily populated areas in a circular pattern.

The local PENCOM dispatch center received numerous calls last night about the helicopter activity, KONP reported.